Barcelona will soon begin their Espai Barca project as they are close to receiving the green light from the investors.
The ambitious project to remodel the Camp Nou stadium and build a new sporting campus has seen very little progress since getting approval in 2021.
However, the €1.5 billion project will finally get underway later this year, as confirmed by the Catalan club in February.
The investors have agreed to pay out €1b while the rest of the cost will be a loan provided by Goldman Sachs.
While Barca dream of building Europe’s most expensive sports facility centre, a new report from The Athletic has shed light on the controversies involved in the project, which could have far-reaching consequences.
The Catalan giants will shift their home venue to Estadi Lluis Companys in Montjuic from next season until they complete the renewal of Camp Nou.
The return to Camp Nou has been mooted for the 2024/25 season, but concerns have emerged it could take longer than the said time frame for the completion of the project.
Primarily, the longer the time, the more it depletes the finances of Barca, who are already in a worse economic condition.
Barca president Joan Laporta believes they can compensate with long-term benefits of the project, but the problems run deeper than that.
Another major concern is the decision to choose the Turkish construction company LIMAK as the main contractor.
The decision met with a lot of criticism, with many questioning whether LIMAK is competent enough to complete the Espai Barca project, having previously not overseen a project of such magnitude.
The Catalans sought LIMAK in a bid to deliver the project at a low price and quickly. However, local companies involved in the bidding process believed that it would take significant money and time to complete the project.
Barca have already started demolishing the third tier of Camp Nou as part of the renovation and are planning to make their home ground a 105,000-seater stadium.
In addition, the ongoing Negreira case would have major implications, including a potential ban from European competitions, should they be found guilty. In such an event, their financial situation would further deteriorate.
Considering all the complexities in the project, it seems like a gargantuan task for the Blaugrana to complete Espai Barca.
